Van Nistelrooy Furious Over Leicester’s FA Cup Exit Against United

Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy expressed his anger over what he called an “unacceptable and unbelievable” mistake in allowing Harry Maguire’s goal for Manchester United, despite the defender being in an offside position. The goal led to Leicester’s elimination from the FA Cup fourth round.

According to the British news agency PA Media, Van Nistelrooy started the season as one of Erik ten Hag’s assistants at Manchester United before taking over Leicester City on an interim basis. This came after Ruben Amorim agreed to his departure, allowing him to take the Leicester job quickly.

Leicester took the lead in the first half through Bobby De Cordova-Reid, but United substitute Joshua Zirkzee equalized.

The match seemed headed for extra time until Maguire scored a stoppage-time winner. The United defender was clearly offside when the ball was played, but VAR is only used from the fifth round onwards in the FA Cup.

Van Nistelrooy said:
“It is difficult to accept because the match was decided by a clear mistake.”

He added:
“This has nothing to do with VAR, where you have to look at millimeters—he was half a meter offside. It was obvious.”

He continued:
“The team did not deserve to lose this way. They fought hard, played well, controlled large parts of the game, and took the lead. This is how we feel after such a match.”

Speaking to ITV, Van Nistelrooy sarcastically commented that Leicester did not lose in “Fergie Time” (a term for United’s famous late-game goals under Sir Alex Ferguson) but instead lost in “Offside Time,” emphasizing that his team’s strong performance ultimately counted for nothing.

On the other side, Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim admitted that his team was fortunate.

“We need a lot of things beyond luck—it’s about quality and hard work,” said the Portuguese coach.

He added:
“We need to improve every detail of our game—our energy, our approach. My work with the team has to be much better. But sometimes, you need a bit of luck, and today, luck was on our side.”

He continued:
“With VAR, the goal would not have counted, and I think that’s important because football should be fair.”

He concluded:
“Losing in the final minute to an offside goal is tough, but sometimes, you need and deserve a bit of luck.”